Harry Potter Drabbles
by endocranium
Summary: Various drabbles about characters in the Harry Potter universe that come to me at random times. Mostly just expanding and elaborating upon the moments and people that mattered a most.
1. Remus Lupin 1: POA

Remus Lupin has had many moments of regret through the years.

He regrets letting James trust Sirius, just as he regrets forgiving Sirius for making him attack Snape that night in 6th year. Sometimes he stares out the window and wishes that he had been the one to hunt down Black, if only so that he could have gotten a good shot at him before joining Lily and James.

But standing in his classroom watching the walking mirror image of his dead friend, Remus Lupin doesn't think he regrets anything more than the fact that this boy – this thirteen year old boy, who should be worrying about girls and homework instead of a mass murderer who is determined to kill him – can't even fuel a Patronus charm because he can't think of a single truly happy memory.


	2. Severus Snape 1: POA

"It's said to be nearly unbearable to witness, but I'll do my best…"

Severus Snape hates the horrified looks the stupid children are giving him, the pleading look in Black's eyes. He _hates_ the accusation in – for God's sake, every time he looks at that idiot boy he sees _her_ eyes and he can't stand it… he _can't stand it_.

Wand pointed at Black's throat, Severus realizes that he can't have vengeance on the Dark Lord, but right here, at wandpoint, is the mechanism, the very reason that she is dead. It is with a slightly detached manor that Severus realizes that he would do it – he would kill him without any regret, if not for the fact that he will suffer more under the care of the dementors. The rage is bubbling up inside of him, clouding his thoughts, his judgment, so that he doesn't see the Potter boy aiming his wand until it's too late.

The last thing he sees before the world goes black is _her_ eyes, narrowed in anger.


	3. Arthur Weasley 1

Arthur had always known who Harry Potter was and exactly what that meant for his son and daughter. When he'd heard about the stone in their first year, he'd taken a moment to wonder if it was really such a good thing that they were friends – but discounted it quickly upon seeing the look of pride on Molly's face. And over the years, he'd come to see Harry as a sort of long lost nephew of whom he was quite proud.

But still, the thought came up sometimes, that Harry Potter had a darker past than any of them could imagine. What the connotations of that were, he didn't know.

It wasn't until after the quidditch world cup, as he stood with his arm around his son's shoulders and watched the dark mark undulate in the sky, that the real meaning of his family's connection with Harry became clear. Something dark was happening, and heading straight for that boy.

No matter who stood by his side to get hurt.


	4. Remus Lupin 2: POA

He can feel the blood drain from his face as he reads the title on the parchment: "Messrs. Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs…" Names he hasn't heard in years, let alone seen in their owner's handwriting like this.

For a moment, he remembers the times they used it – sneaking out at night to get food from the kitchens, pranking Slytherins, or exploring corridors long forgotten. Peter would be stumbling over Sirius' shoes, and James would be walking too fast to keep up with – only he would actually be watching the map to make sure they didn't get caught. Yes, for a moment he is 16 again, and his life is happy and whole, if not entirely care-free.

But when he looks up at James, he realizes how wrong he is; that James' eyes are the wrong color, and Peter and Sirius are not – and never will be – together at Hogwarts again


	5. Remus Lupin 3: DH

AN: I think I just love connecting the first and second war and maybe that's why I keep doing Remus one-shots. But anyway, this one occurred to me when I was re-reading Deathly Hallows and I wanted to emphasize how alike James and Harry are in this moment and how James' death changed Remus. So italics mean that it's what's happening in the first war, and regular font is present day. The quotes are obviously from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which I do not own or claim any rights to.

* * *

It is a somber crowd that stands in the kitchen of the Burrow, each resisting the horrible thoughts that run through their heads, telling them that there must be a traitor. Someone in this room must have told – it's the only explanation why Voldemort knew they were moving Harry tonight. This is the unfortunate part of every war, and one that Remus has seen before. The sliding eyes, old friends avoiding glances; when lives are on the line even the strongest friendships begin to fade.

_It's so much worse because they are so young, Remus thinks, and as he looks at the faces of his three best friends feels horribly guilty as he begins running down the list in his head of order members who might just be the one. He trusts James, Sirius and Peter with his life and he always has – but then again, he has thought that about everyone in the order before. Sirius is counting off names and listing his reasoning, Peter looks terrified for his life, and James…_

Harry is adamant. "No… I mean, if someone made a mistake and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do." Harry's eyes are narrowed, and Remus knows that in this moment Harry is completely and truly sure of what he is saying. "It's not their fault."

"… _We've got to trust each other," Continues James, looking around as his friends. For a moment Remus sees the familiar glint in his eye, first spotted their third year when James finally discovered Remus' lycanthropy and promised not to tell. He's always been the truest of friends and incapable of believing any of his friends to be less faithful. Even now he is slamming his hand on the kitchen table, knowing that his wife and infant son are in mortal danger and yet convinced enough in the loyalty of his confederates that he would bet not only his own life but the lives of his family as well. In that instant, Remus is able to pull himself together and take comfort in James' words, spoken with such authority that he can't help but believe when James says, "I trust all of you. I don't think…"_

"… anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort," Harry finishes with a fierce look.

For a moment, Remus lets himself believe again. He believes in idealism, loyalty and honor.

But he remembers all too well the last time he kept that faith. It ended in tragedy and the greatest betrayal of all. This time it's Remus' family on the line – including Harry – and he just can't bring himself to be as noble as James. And maybe, just maybe, that will change the ending.


	6. Draco Malfoy 1: HBP

AN: OK, so I was watching "Half-Blood Prince" and I got on a kick about halfway through. So excuse the sudden onslaught of HBP one-shots – they aren't really edited, but I had fun writing them so I thought I'd post them.

* * *

Draco Malfoy's life has never been as perfect as it seems to outsiders, but despite what idiot professors and prejudiced Gryffindors may think it's always been a good one. He's lived in luxury and without fear, danger or want of anything.

The past six months have been a drastic change. In a matter of days his father was arrested and the entire world came crashing down. He didn't feel fear at the trial; although he worried for his father it never showed on his face. And when the Dark Lord summoned him and gave him a mission of his own, Draco felt anxious but little fear, for he was confident he could achieve his goal.

But staring into the broken vanishing cabinet all the emotions Draco has been avoiding are welling up inside him. In this moment there is nothing except the sight of a broken white bird, laying motionless inside a dark cabinet where mere minutes before it was alive and chirping.

Draco has seen horrors since last summer. He's seen tortures, killings and kidnappings. He's watched his father go to prison and his mother slowly give in to despair. He's seen his family home taken over by the Dark Lord and knows in his heart that this time he's fighting not for honor or pride but for his own life.

Somehow he's persevered, an emotionless soldier determined to carry out his mission. But it is the sight of this little dead bird that hurts him the most and for the first time since this nightmare began, Draco Malfoy allows himself to feel – and to cry.


	7. Horace Slughorn 1: HBP

AN: I always feel like Slughorn is a much more complex character in the movie… like he's really good at heart, he's just ambitious and blinded by fame. But I feel like he genuinely cared about Lily and grieved her death, and therefore deserves a little one-shot of his own

* * *

He'd like to say that he didn't know – that even looking deep into the eyes of young Tom Riddle that there was no possible reason to suspect anything other than the natural curiosity of a brilliant student.

The boy had always been an avid reader, and Horace told himself over and over as he sat dumbly in his office that it was inevitable that he would eventually progress to more advanced material. It was only natural – the very fact that Horace had been able to answer the boy's question showed that a person could read on those subjects and remain unchanged.

There was no concrete evidence, certainly no logical reason to be wary. Maybe it was just the slightest hint of greed that flared up in Tom's eyes on occasion, or the slightly mechanical way in which he smiled. There was a flatness to his expressions on occasion, but maybe it was more what was lacking that made Horace nervous.

The idea of murdering 6 people should horrify any decent person, yet there was no trace of hesitation when Tom spoke on the subject. He stared pensively into the fire as though pondering a textbook rather than the darkest of magics.

No, all that was suspicious but not damning. But Horace had the most horrible feeling in his stomach, and the barely discernable smirk on Tom's face as he assured his professor that his interests were purely academic did more than just send a chill up his spine. It terrified him,

Not my fault, Horace told himself. Just a curious student. But he couldn't repress the feeling, as he stared into the dying embers of the fire, that something utterly horrifying had just happened.

And that he was entirely to blame.


	8. Albus Dumbledore 1: HBP

AN: Now that we have more backstory to Dumbledore, HBP (and really all the books) suddenly have new dimensions to them…

* * *

"But how would you find them? They could be hidden anywhere." Harry's eyes were wide, eager and suddenly alight with the excitement of having a real plan of attack. Dumbledore recognized in Harry the very real, consuming desire join in the fight and defeat his dark enemy.

But as Harry idly reached out and touched the ring, a chill ran down Albus Dumbledore's spine. The ring jumped as though reacting to a catalyst and for the briefest of seconds a red gleam passed though Harry's eyes, his neck stretching slightly, almost snakelike in manner.

Albus felt his heart clench as the realization set upon him of what he had to do to this boy. It was all for the greater good, of course, and therefore had to be done.

But for the first time, looking into the wide, innocent eyes of the sixteen year old boy Albus had begun to think of as a son, he wondered if that logic – so long revered and quoted – was enough.


	9. Albus Dumbledore 2: HBP

AN: Now that we have more backstory to Dumbledore, HBP (and really all the books) suddenly have new dimensions to them…

* * *

The pain is absolute and all-consuming. Albus can feel it running down every nerve of his body, wracking his limbs with overwhelming agony. And yet it is nothing compared to the mental anguish, the horror of watching Aberforth, his brother, tortured under the cruciatus curse. It's not even close to the pain of seeing Arianna fall, over and over again, in a flash of light so blinding that he can't be sure which spell hit. Worst of all is seeing, for the first time in years, the handsome face of Gellert, pinched with fury and the sinking realization in Albus' stomach that either one of them could have killed Arianna.

He is one hundred and fifteen years old, but at this moment Albus can do nothing but lay on the hard rock of the cave and sob as these images flash over and over through his mind. He feels nothing but this pain and hears nothing but Arianna's screams and Gellert's laughter and in this moment he truly wants nothing more than to die.

There is a splash nearby, although Albus barely hears it as though it is at a great distance, and he becomes dimly aware of someone else's yells. A boy, he remembers vaguely. He came here with a boy and that boy is in trouble.

It takes monumental effort to pull himself to his feet, and Albus can still barely stand straight, but the concentration required clears his head and in that moment he remembers who he is and why he has come here.

_Inflamare! _He cries loudly, knowing the spell is too powerful for someone weakened as he is and knowing that it will tax his dwindling reserves of strength. This fight isn't even close to over, but Albus can feel in his bones that his part is coming to an end.

But he won't go without a fight, a final showing. And he won't give in while Harry needs him. He tried inaction before, afraid to take a side and afraid to admit what his own friend – what he himself might have done. This time there can be no inaction. Harry is too important – to the wizarding world, to his friends and perhaps most of all – Albus realizes with a flash of clarity – to himself. This time Albus will put someone else first and he can be the one to sacrifice for the greater good.

This time, he won't stand back and watch as someone he loves is killed.


	10. Draco Malfoy 2: HBP

AN: Yet another under-developed character who I think deserves a little more credit than he gets…

* * *

Draco didn't regret taking the Dark Mark.

His father had always spoken fondly of the times when the Dark Lord reigned, of the freedom purebloods had enjoyed and the power that had been theirs for the taking. When the Dark Lord had offered him the honor, the chance to make up for his father's failings, Draco had willingly jumped at the chance.

And when he was assigned a mission of his own, an opportunity to prove his worth, Draco felt a surge of pride that he could finally do something to better the world for wizarding kind.

But now… now Bellatrix Lestrange is blasting the windows of Hogwarts and running down the tables where he and his classmates ate their meals. Fenrir Grayback is smiling grimly as someone's blood drips down his chin, and the faint echo of screams and spellfire sounds in the hallways of Hogwarts. Hogwarts, the one place that always seemed safe and separate from the rest of the world.

Draco turns around to look back, and sees a dark shape huddled at the base of the astronomy tower. A scream of grief echoes across the grounds, and the dark mark glitters in the air over the castle. Bellatrix is shrieking with glee as she randomly destroys anything in her path, and Snape's eyes have never looked so cold. And with a sudden chill, Draco realizes:

_This isn't what he wanted._


	11. Severus Snape 2: HBP

AN: I really hate how Snape seriously got the short end of the stick. I mean, the guy's entire life was just horrible and he ended up sacrificing everything and getting nothing.

* * *

A Slytherin must never reveal his emotions, for they are weaknesses that your enemies will exploit.

It's a lesson taught early in Slytherin house, and Severus Snape learned it well. He adapted early, teaching himself how to turn his feelings inward whilst keeping a blank mask on his face. It was useful early on when the Marauders would gang up on him and taunt him, for at least then he could deprive them of the final victory of seeing the humiliation on his face. The mask became more permanent when Lily finally left, the one person who he ever let see behind the façade. And when she died…

Over the years the pain became easier to bear, but no less potent for all the time that had passed. A student with the same shade of red hair, the high pitched laughter of a girl – the smallest things could set off the memories and then the mask would fall, just for the briefest second, and the grief would return.

But it's been decades now, and without an outlet everything – all the emotions, all the unspoken needs – have turned inwards and slowly built up. For a man whose expression never changes, Severus Snape, perhaps more than any other person at Hogwarts, truly _feels_.

And that will be his undoing.

So when he hears the words of the curse leave his lips, he lets the mask slip just slightly – just enough for Albus to see the apology, the pain in his eyes. And when the limp body of his only friend flies backward, Severus holds back a wave of despair so powerful it threatens to overwhelm him. When he hears the sound of a body hitting the ground below the tower he finally regains control knowing that this time it is too much. This time he can't recover, can never truly keep up the mask. And something inside of him breaks irreparably.

Severus Snape can no longer feel anything. He is empty inside.

Perhaps that is the greatest mercy of all.


	12. Minerva McGonagall 1: DH

AN: For some reason McGonagall's scream was just the most heart-wrenching moment during the final battle for me. She's an incredible character who gave everything for the good of the students but we never hear much about her own life or feelings. So here goes…

* * *

It is easy to forget that this is hardly the first war that many witches and wizards have fought in, but it is a sad fact. Minerva McGonagall remembers not only the first war with Voldemort but the dark years of Grindlewald's ascension as well and she has seen, in her time, too many young lives cut short to count.

She watched as an entire class of her Gryffindors disappeared from the world in 1981, but she has also stood in battle and seen children cut down in front of their parents, torture inflicted on the innocent for no reason other than sadistic pleasure.

Throughout all of this Minerva has maintained, however, that in the end light will truly triumph over darkness for in her heart, despite her austerity and strict appearance, Minerva is a true Gryffindor. And when all else has failed, she has put her faith in one man who she knows will always fight on the right side and will always make sure that everything will be all right in the end.

The first time Minerva truly felt a fear of Voldemort was the night Dumbledore was killed. Standing amongst her students she knew she needed to take action, needed to do _something_ for God's sake other than stare dumbly at the body of the man many – she included – had considered a savior. In that moment she suddenly knew with a flash of awareness that there really was a chance that they might lose.

But she never gave up. Not when Albus' murderer was made headmaster, not when she was forced to stand back and watch the torture of twelve year olds at the hands of their fellow students for no crime other than kindness, and not even when she came down to breakfast one morning in March and realized that over half of her students were gone – and not coming back.

So when she stood on the steps of Hogwarts early one May morning and knew the end was coming, she tried not to give up hope. She rallied her students and prayed that a single seventeen year old boy could save their entire way of life.

The moment Minerva McGonagall saw the limp body of Harry Potter in the arms of Hagrid she knew. She didn't need to see the blood dripping down his face, or the way his arm dangled lifelessly at his side to know that it was over. For the first time in her life Minerva gave up hope and there was nothing she could do.

Nothing she could do but scream through the silence of the sunrise, and as she did she had a sudden revelation.

None of them would survive to see the sunset.


End file.
